A few showers this morning, then thunderstorms with heavy rainfall arriving during the afternoon hours. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High near 90F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Tonight
Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially early. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
A few showers this morning, then thunderstorms with heavy rainfall arriving during the afternoon hours. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High near 90F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Tonight
Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially early. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Cabell Midland's Quinn Ballengee (11) heads for her teammates celebrating at home plate after a home run against Hurricane on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Ona.
Cabell Midland's Quinn Ballengee (11) heads for her teammates celebrating at home plate after a home run against Hurricane on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Ona.
Cabell Midland beat Hurricane this week 8-3 and 8-4, but the defining stat in those two triumphs was 7-0.
The Redskins committed seven errors to the KnightsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ none in the best-of-three Class AAA Region 4 high school softball finals on Monday and Tuesday. Those miscues led to four runs that put Hurricane at early disadvantages in both games.
Known for its potent offense and strong pitching, Cabell MidlandÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s defense sometimes is overlooked. The Knights (29-5), though, boast a .949 fielding percentage. According to MaxPreps, the national average is .888.
Cabell Midland has made 34 errors in 663 total chances ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” an average of one per game.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t take much to shift momentum,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Knights shortstop Quinn Ballengee said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œOur defense was great. Our offense was good, too. A lot of people stepped up, and all around we did a great job and Drea (Watts) pitched great.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Hurricane beat Cabell Midland 9-5 in the Mountain State Athletic Conference tournament title game on April 25. The difference? Defense.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhen we beat them in the MSAC, we had zero errors,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Hurricane coach Meghan Stevens said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe hit the ball a little bit better. YouÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re not always going to hit like that.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
When hitting is lacking, pitching and defense becomes more important. Hurricane, especially shortstop Jaden Jones, made some spectacular plays, but as a team botched some more routine balls.
Cabell Midland advances to the state tournament May 22 and 23 at Little Creek Park in South Charleston. University qualified out of Region 1 and Greenbrier East from Region 3. Musselman and Washington are vying for the Region 2 title.
The Knights won state championships in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2021. They were runners-up last season.
Cabell Midland coach Herman Beckett said defense was critical in beating Hurricane (21-8) and, before that, Lincoln County (23-6). Beckett said the Redskins and Panthers are state tournament-caliber teams.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been strong on defense all year,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Beckett said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe work on that. The girls put in a lot of time to be strong defensively, and it shows.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Tim Stephens is a sports writer with The Herald-Dispatch.
